Angelfish Reef

One - Marcy, the Whiny

The clock couldn't go any slower. It was the second to last period on the second to last day of school before winter break, and Reece was barely paying any attention to what the teacher was saying about taking break time. After she finished, the bell rang and she walked out of the classroom. During the break, before the last period, Marcy went up to the fish tank, putting a fish in. It must've been a friend for the class fish. Her class fish. The fish's name was Flack.

Reece didn't even know why she tried anymore. Either that, or he was still mad about the time when Marcy trashed a gift, one of the best ones he had ever made. To add fuel to the fire, it was for his mom. She was going through a rough time trying to manage how her son was feeling almost every single second of every single day. He remembered it like it was yesterday. Reece got furious just thinking about it.

He looked over to his friend, River. River was a cool friend. Not only because so many people hilariously mistook him for a girl, but it was also because of his hair. It was long, brown, and he liked to keep it in a ponytail most of the time. Today he was wearing a navy blue sweatshirt with denim pants. Reece had to admit that it looked pretty good on him.

Whatever, that wasn't the point. Reece had a devilish idea that Marcy wouldn't even see coming. When he worded it like that in his head, however, it didn't sound like such a devilish idea. Anyways, it was the last minute of the break. Bottom of the ninth. He knew exactly what his idea was, and he knew exactly how he was gonna do it.

He got up from his chair and walked to the front of the class. He walked up to the fish tank where Marcy was.

"Oh, hey Reece!" Marcy said, with a mouthful of peanut butter and jelly sandwich her mom packed for her. Marcy's pink, twin-braided hair shifted as she looked up at Reece.

"Reece, what are you doing?"

"Hm?" Reece grabbed the tank and picked it up loosely.

"What are you-"

You know, if someone were to pause at that very moment, and just leave it there, the lives of everybody involved would be way better than how they came out. Sadly, however, Reece's feelings got the best of him. This happened a lot, but never like how it was about to happen.

Reece dropped the tank, with glass getting everywhere on the floor.

"Whoops."

Chaos unfolded.

While most of the class screamed, laughed, or gasped, Marcy was definitely screaming. The whole ordeal was like music to his ears. In fact, if someone were to take a picture right now, it would look like an ancient painting. Renaissance painters would have a lot to learn from Reece.

Reece decided to listen to Marcy, and the rest of the class, actually.

"Reece! Why did you do that?! My fish are going to die because of you!" Marcy tugged at his shoulder, trying to get him to at least say sorry.

"Dude, that was ruthless!" said one student.

"What's your problem?!" said another. This student happened to be one of Marcy's friends. She had more than one, apparently. Reece was surprised she even had one.

To make him feel better, though, some of his classmates were actually cheering him on. Not River though, he just sat in his seat looking down at his desk.    

"Stop this instant!" shouted another student, or that's what the class thought, at least. Once everybody calmed down, it turned out to be not just a student, but an adult. A teacher.  The class teacher.

"Now, would anybody care to tell me about whatever this mess is?!"

Both kids just stood there. Reece with two flopping fish in his hands, and Marcy in hysterics, with tears flowing down her face nonstop.

. . .

They both ended up in the counselor's office.

Before Mrs. Selma got to her office, however, Reece decided to scoot his chair as far away as he could from Marcy. Marcy did the same. They were both quietly thinking violent thoughts-well, probably only Reece was, in their heads while having a furious expression on their faces.

"And would you like to tell me why you did this, Mr. Wheatley?"

Reece buried his face in his hands and then threw his arms in Marcy's direction, pointing to her.

"She deserved it! She threw away a gift and she teased me for it for the past two weeks! It was for my mom!"

"Any witnesses of the said event?"

"Ask River, he'll tell you what happened! He was there for god's sake! He even offered to make me a new one."

"Look, Reece, I think you're overreacting a bit-"

"Overreacting?! If anything, it was the teacher who overreacted!" Reece got up and walked over to the door, swinging it open.

"Mr. Wheatley, we can talk this out-"

Reece slammed the door. He stomped off and out of the office building. He put on his backpack and got ready to leave. The bell rung, and he ran as fast as he could. He knew that Mrs. Selma was going to want him to stay after school, and that kept him determined enough to keep running. Except he felt a little tired.

He was getting more exhausted with each quickened step he took and, soon enough, he nearly passed out before he even got to the crosswalk. He tried to stay up, but his limbs gave out, and he fell flat on the floor.

He heard the voice of Mrs. Selma echoing through the air, and some other students as well. The last thing he saw was a blurry vision of Mrs. Selma's heels, and then his eyes closed.

Reece awoke to someone in black heels carrying him to her office. The tapping of her heels echoed throughout the hall.

Reece's throat felt dry, almost like he couldn't speak. He tried to talk.

"What time is it?" he said, with a raspy voice.

"3:45, Reece. I'm having you stay late after school, with the rest of the people involved in the situation."

"I just wanna go home. My mom's going to think I'm dead."

"You're fine, Reece. We just have to talk about your feelings and why you did this."

"Okay, fine." Reece sighed. "Do I have to stay long or anything?"

"No, Reece. It's ok, you'll be fine."

He was placed in a room with some familiar faces. River, Kira, and Tia.

Tia was a great and supportive friend. She had dark skin, and her hair was nice to touch. It was soft and fluffy. The good thing was that she always let people touch her hair unless their fingers were dirty or she just didn't like them. She was wearing a green sweater.

Kira looked the same as Tia, except she didn't have dark skin. Her hair was blonde and she had braces. Kira always liked to wear her purple hoodie. It was what she felt most comfortable in.

River waved nervously, Tia looked like she didn't wanna be there, and Kira was half asleep. Mrs. Selma politely gestured right over to the only chair left, the farthest from the door.

"Take a seat, Reece."